Charlie Muirhead

Charlie Muirhead (born 29 May 1975) is a British Australian[1] serial tech entrepreneur, investor and public speaker who has co-founded 8 companies spanning music, telecoms software, outsourcing, video streaming and social media, angel investment, artificial intelligence and business events.

In 1996 at the age of 21 Charlie founded his first company, internet software firm Orchestream,[2] which he took public 4 years later with UBS on the LSE and Nasdaq and which reached a valuation of over £1bn before being caught up in the telecoms crash. Charlie stepped down as CEO the same year and stayed on as a Non Executive Director.

His most recent venture, CogX, brings together global leaders, the tech industry and the public to address the question, “How do we get the next 10 years right?”[3] CogX was co-founded with Tabitha Goldstaub now Chair of the UK AI Council, and its inaugural conference in June 2017 focused on “The Impact of AI on Industry, Government, and Society”.[4] The conference's second installment took place during London Tech Week in June 2018, at Tobacco Dock in Wapping, East London with SoftBank Investment Advisers as its headline sponsor.[5]

After 3 years, for 2023 the Festival is expanding again to 90,000 visitors, 1,000 speakers, and 10 programmes ranging from global leadership and democracy to artificial intelligence, industry transformation, the future of energy, education, life sciences, defence and ethics.[3][6] The venue has not yet been announced.

Charlie has been selected twice as a World Economic Forum “Technology Pioneer” and was named the European Technology Forum's "Technology Entrepreneur of the Year".

Early life and education

Muirhead was born in London, England and educated at Bedales School in Hampshire. At the age of 18, Muirhead handled his first management buyout of a musical-equipment rental business.[7][8] At 19 he enrolled at the Imperial College London to study computer science.[9]

Founded companies

CognitionX

Charlie Muirhead and Tabitha Goldstaub founded CognitionX in 2015, after identifying the need for greater clarity in the "fast-paced" and "increasingly fragmented" area of artificial intelligence.[4] The company launched with the stated goal of creating a "well-organised knowledge base ... about everything going on in AI, in one place".[4] CognitionX is building a proprietary software platform, the Knowledge Network, powered by augmented intelligence. In March 2018 CognitionX was commissioned by the Mayor of London to carry out a census of AI innovation in the capital.[10]

The free, public version of the Knowledge Network empowers users to immediately access a global network of AI experts, on-demand, while the Enterprise edition also enables large firms to capitalise on internal expertise.[11]

In addition, the company issues a daily AI newsletter, authored by Tabitha Goldstaub, which has over 11,000 subscribers. CognitionX also produces bespoke research projects and has held over 60 meetups since June 2015 on topics ranging from HRTech to the future of chatbots

In 2018, CognitionX was commissioned by the Mayor of London's Office to write a report analysing the AI ecosystem in London.[12] The final report, which looks at London's unique strengths as a global hub of AI, found that London was the AI capital of Europe; highlights include the fact that London hosts over 750 AI suppliers.

In June 2017, CognitionX hosted the inaugural CogX, a two-day ‘Innovation Exchange’ for 1,500 delegates discussing how AI will shape the future of society.[13] CogX 2018 saw 6,500 attendees and over 370 speakers at Tobacco Dock.[14] CogX 2019, held in the King's Cross area of London, was home to over 10,000 attendees and over 600 speakers.

On 29 September 2022 the High Court placed CognitionX into administration[15]

Orchestream

In 1996, while at university, Muirhead founded the company Orchestream, which allowed web users to prioritise their data on the Internet. In the two decades since, Muirhead has set up a total eight of startups, including NexAgent, iGabriel, InterProvider, t5m, and Brave Bison (formerly known as Rightster).[8] He left Imperial early to work on the company full-time, though he received a note from the university stating that he could return if his business idea fell through.[9] By 1999 Orchestream was worth £1 billion and was listed on the NASDAQ. Job cuts, management changes, accounting errors, and other mishaps[16] caused the company to lose more than 99% of its value by the mid 2000s.[17] Muirhead stepped down from his position as CEO in 2000, though maintained a position as non-executive director with the company.

NexAgent, iGabriel, and InterProvider

In July 2000 Muirhead founded the data communications company Nexagent, which secured £10.3m in its first round of funding.[18] Muirhead served as President and CEO of the company until 2003, when he relinquished his role as CEO, but retained his role as President of the company.[19] Muirhead also founded iGabriel.net—an Internet incubator fund that invested in start-up web companies.[20] According to The Daily Telegraph, "Unlike other incubators, iGabriel only accepts funds from individuals, and mainly from people in the technology or media industries who can help develop the companies in which the fund invests."[21] iGabriel.net would eventually merge with Pi-Capital. In 2001 Muirhead founded the company InterProvider.[21] InterProvider supplied proprietary software and serviced interconnections to telecom operators, and Time magazine featured Muirhead as an up-and-coming entrepreneur in its coverage of the company's founding.[7]

t5m

In 2007 Muirhead founded the company t5m, standing for "the 5th medium". The website is an online television network that features interviews with prominent individuals talking about socially conscious issues. Early offerings included an exclusive channel run by Nelson Mandela's charity 46664, which partnered with t5m for World AIDS Day.[22] The company relaunched in 2008 to syndicate original content clips between 3 and 5 minutes long, and distribute its own proprietary video-player. t5m combines the traditional television format of network-owned syndication alongside programs with production company-owned rights.[23] The company also produced the television show Trinny and Susannah – What They Did Next.[24]

Rightster / Brave Bison

In 2011 Muirhead co-founded Rightster with Tabitha Goldstaub, a software company that automates the end-to-end lifecycle for content owners, publishers, and marketers of digital video content including distribution, marketing, and monetisation of the content. Content partners for the company came from a broad range of industries, from London Fashion Week to ITN Productions and The Guardian newspaper. The company provided rights management through a cloud-based platform in addition to live streaming, audience development and YouTube/Facebook management services. Events that have streamed on Rightster have included the Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton and the Leveson Inquiry.[25] By March 2012, monthly video views of Rightster's clients grew from approximately one million views per month to 100 million views per month. Its staff also quadrupled during that time, and has offices in London, New York City, and Delhi.[26] On 10 May 2016, it was announced that the company was relaunching under the name Brave Bison.[27]

Awards
  • Named the European Technology Forum's "Technology Entrepreneur of the Year" in March 2004
  • Selected twice as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer (with Nexagent in 2005 and Orchestream in 2000)

References
  1. "Charles Stacy MUIRHEAD personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK".
  2. "Rightster: Charlie Muirhead | Growing Business". Startups.co.uk: Starting a business advice and business ideas. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  3. Healey, Berenice (10 June 2020). "From roadie to CEO: CognitionX and CogX founder Charlie Muirhead on technology, networking and beyond". Verdict. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  4. Haworth, Elliott (19 June 2017). "Meet the pair preparing London (and the world) for our AI future". Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  5. "AI Festival CogX Returns in June – During London Tech Week – Irish Tech News". irishtechnews.ie. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  6. "CogX Festival and Hopin Agree 3-year Partnership to Deliver the World's Largest Hybrid Event". www.businesswire.com. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  7. "Charles Muirhead". Time. 29 October 2001. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  8. "Changing Media Summit 2013: speakers". the Guardian. 3 December 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  9. "Me And My Partner: Charles Muirhead, Ashley Ward". The Independent. 10 November 1999. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  10. Brinded, Lianna. "London's mayor is assembling plans to make the city the next big AI hub". Quartz. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  11. "CognitionX LinkedIn". LinkedIn.
  12. Brinded, Lianna. "London's mayor is assembling plans to make the city the next big AI hub". Quartz. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  13. Haworth, Elliott (19 June 2017). "Meet the pair preparing London (and the world) for our AI future". Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  14. "CogX 2018 London - The Festival of All Things AI". CogX. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  15. "COGNITIONX Ltd insolvency - Find and update company information - GOV.UK".
  16. Reading 12/9/2002, News Analysis Light. "Orchestream Goes for Peanuts". Light Reading. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  17. "Orchestream CEO resigns as losses soar". Information Age. 9 February 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  18. Paris, Guy Paisner in. "Nexagent secures £10.3m funding". Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  19. "Nexagent chief executive stands down". www.telecompaper.com. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  20. Mills, Lauren (29 July 2000). "iGabriel backs Sourceree". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  21. Bennett, Neil (11 March 2001). "Muirhead sets up new tech venture". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  22. "Trailblazer: Geek guru". Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  23. "t5m re-launches as a branded content studio, syndicator and video player – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  24. "Changing Advertising Summit Speakers". the Guardian. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  25. "ITN unifies online ad sales with Rightster". Econsultancy. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  26. "Rightster Adds Key Executives to Support Fast Growing Turnkey Video Syndication Platform". 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  27. "Rightster becomes Brave Bison". Broadband TV News. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
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